Shoulder Worn Military Equipment Carrier

ABSTRACT

A shoulder-worn soft good allows a user to carry ammunition magazines across a front portion, and supplies in the back, predominantly water and communications equipment. The device also functions as a sling for the user&#39;s weapon. It is a single piece of equipment that supplies the four basic needs of the soldier: ammunition, water, communications equipment, and weapon.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional App. No.60/975,977, filed Sep. 28, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporatedby reference herein.

STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSOREDRESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to equipment carrying devices for militaryand hunting activities.

Current solutions to the problem of carrying all the basic equipmentused in military or hunting activities involve multiple pieces ofspecialized equipment. Typically a piece of equipment is worn thatcarries ammunition and a radio (such as a “Rhodesian Chest Harness”) aseparate item is worn that carries water (such as a CamelBak® brandhydration system), and another item is worn that carries a weapon (asling) and a belt is often employed to carry extra items not able to becarried on any of the other platforms.

What is needed is a combined carrier which readily and convenientlysupports all these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The carrier of the present invention is a reinforced fabric-based shapethat resembles a sash and which is provided with discrete pockets in thefront to carry magazines, or alternatively has rows of webbing in thefront to attach magazine pouches, and which supports a rifle sling inthe front. A water container and a radio are received within rearpouches, and a pull-out accessory pouch is mounted to the rear.

Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the equipment carrier of the presentinvention shown in relation to a wearer.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the equipment carrier of FIG. 1,with a pull-out pouch shown stored and deployed in phantom view.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1-2, wherein like numbers refer tosimilar parts, an equipment carrier 20 is shown. The carrier 20 is areinforced fabric-based shape. The carrier has a sash 25 having a frontsection 26 and a rear section 28 which are connected by a shoulder strap30. The rear section 28 is generally L-shaped, with a first segment 70which extends upwardly at an angle, and a second segment 72 whichextends horizontally from the first segment to wrap around the wearer74. The front section 26 is provided with discrete pockets 22 to carrymagazines 24. Alternatively, the front section may have rows of webbingin the front to attach magazine pouches. The pockets 22 may be providedwith conventional PALS webbing 32 which is compatible with MOLLE andother modular pouches.

The system includes the following components: a sash, one or morecontainer portions of the sash; and one or more attachment means on theexterior of the sash.

As shown in FIG. 1, the shoulder strap 30 has a pass-through flap 34which routes a hydration tube 36 from a hydration system such as theCamelBak® brand hydration bladder 38 which is received in a pouch 40 onthe rear section 28 of the sash. A stiff but bendable rifle stock catch42 is sewn into the shoulder strap 30 on the outside across from thehydration pass-through flap 34. This catch 42 defines a “bolstered” areaof the shoulder to catch the rifle's stock and prevent it from slidingoff during firing. The flap 34 may also receive electronics cabling, notshown, from communications gear 44 which is received within a pocket 46on the rear section 28 of the sash overlying the hydration bladder 38pouch 40. The hyrdration bladder pouch 40 may also receive miscellaneousitems.

A reinforced fabric loop 48 extends downwardly from the shoulder strap30, and may receive a clip 50 to define an upper weapon attachment pointwhich receives a rifle strap 52. A strap 54 extends downwardly from thefront section 26 of the sash to define a lower weapon attachment pointand which may be connected by a releasable buckle 56 to a rifle 58.

The pockets 22 have sidewardly opening slots in the edge of the sashfront section, and are designed to hold ammunition magazines and orientthem for easy retrieval and insertion into the weapon.

As shown in FIG. 2, attachment points are also provided on the rearsection 28 of the sash, such as PALS webbing 76 compatible with MOLLEand other modular pouches.

As shown in FIG. 1, the carrier 20 has a first side strap 60 which mayemploy a releasable buckle and which is preferably adjustable in lengthfor fit. The first side strap 60 extends from a portion along an outsideedge of the front section to an outside edge of the rear section of thesash. The first side strap 60 extends at an elevation above the wearer'swaist. A second side strap 62 is similar in construction to the firstside strap and extends from a lower corner of the front section of thesash to a lower portion of the rear section of the sash. The second sidestrap 62 is substantially lower in elevation than the first side strap.

As shown in FIG. 2, a pull-out pouch 64 is kept in a stored position onthe rear section 28 of the sash 25, positioned between the hydrationpouch 40 and the wearer. The pull-out pouch 64 has a protruding tab 66which can be engaged by one hand of the user and rapidly deployed. Thepull-out pouch 64 may have a drawstring or elastic mouth 68 to permititems, such as spent magazines, to be rapidly inserted and retainedtherein.

The carrier 20 combines the basic elements into a single item. Thisapproach reduces weight, heat stress, and bulk of items worn on theuser's body, and offers the added benefit of being small enough to bestored with and treated as part of a main rifle, in a fashion similar tothe way a rifle sling is used. This makes “gearing-up” (donning one'sbasic gear) much faster than having to put on item after item. In anemergency, this speed can mean the difference between life and death.

Variations on the current configuration include a version with a largerstorage area on the back portion, a version without any pockets on theexterior of the front or back (only places to attach pockets), andversions that are specific to various rifle calibers.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particularconstruction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described,but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope ofthe following claims.

1. A military equipment carrier comprising: a front section; a rearsection; a shoulder strap extending between and connecting the frontsection to the rear section; a first side strap extending from the frontsection to the rear section at a first elevation; a second side strapextending from the front section to the rear section at a secondelevation which is lower than the first elevation; portions of the rearsection which receive a water hydration pouch; a first weapon attachmentpoint on the front section; and a second weapon attachment point on thefront section.
 2. The military equipment carrier of claim 1 wherein therear section is generally L shaped.
 3. The military equipment carrier ofclaim 1 further comprising a rifle stock catch which protrudes upwardlyfrom the shoulder strap.
 4. The military equipment carrier of claim 1further comprising a pass through flap mounted to the shoulder strappositioned to receive a hydration tube extending from a hydration pouchretained on the rear section.
 5. The military equipment carrier of claim1 further comprising: a pull-out pouch which is configured to be kept ina stored position on the rear section, positioned between the hydrationpouch and the wearer; and a protruding tab connected to the pull-outpouch which can be engaged by one hand of the user to allow the pull-outpouch to be rapidly deployed.